ITHACA, N.Y. — Cornell University records indicate Thomas Shauter, identified as 1882 in the report, was the first Black American to enroll at Cornell, matriculating in 1878 on the 10th anniversary of the university’s opening.

Shauter enrolled in what was called the "optional course" of study, a flexible curriculum that allowed students to pursue their interests and could lead to a bachelor’s degree if the faculty deemed it appropriate. He lived in Cascadilla Hall before finding employment at a boarding house, likely 105 Dewitt Place.

By 1885, he was working as a stenographer in Cleveland, Ohio. He may have been persuaded west by his fellow Dewitt Place boarder, Holmes Marshall, 1883, who was from Cleveland and returned there after graduation.

When Thomas Shauter died in 1926, the Chicago Defender called him a "pioneer of court reporters of our group in Cleveland."

No photos of Shauter are known to survive. The report includes an image of his matriculation entry under his last name’s original spelling.